While he discounts the days for goodbye, for retirement because they are many years of wreckage and the body and life ask him to turn over a new leaf, David Ferrer follows his thing, which is to be faithful to himself until the end. Authentic like few others, the Alicante (36 years) will put the finishing touch to his career in a little more than a month, and meanwhile has been saying goodbye to some special scenarios. La Caja Mágica de Madrid will be the definitive closing, and before that he has paraded and has been taking home palms in Auckland, Buenos Aires or Acapulco, and these days in Miami.
He embraces tennis to a respected and admired player, exemplary in the effort and always discreet, although before lowering the blind he wanted to give himself a great night when defeating against all odds (2-6, 7-5, 6-3, in 2h 22m) to the German Alexander Zverev, number three in the world and 15 years younger than him.
“It’s true, this triumph was not part of my plans,” he acknowledged after winning the pass, quoted with local Frances Tiafoe in the third round. “Winning matches like this is a gift. I’m not at my best, but I’m going to give it all,” extended the Xàbia, who did not achieve a win against a top-3 since April 2014, when he beat Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo.
Installed in the 155th place in the ranking, Ferrer squeezes his last days as a professional. He will hang the racket with 27 individual titles, three Davis Cups and having disputed a Grand Slam final (Roland Garros 2013) and another Masters (2007). He ascended to the third drawer of the world podium and today, with his son Leo waiting for him at home, naturally faces the way out because the injuries pursue him, is not competitive and its bar of demand is maximum, so he prefers not to stretch more chewing gum.
Invited at the last minute by the tournament – “I didn’t ask for the wild card because I knew there were young people and I didn’t want to take it away from them, who deserved it more, but the tournament gave it to me… I stay with the affection of the people”-, the Spaniard monopolized the protagonism of a day in which Feliciano López (6-1 and 6-3 with Grigor Dimitrov), Jaume Munar (6-4, 3-6 and 6-3 against Kevin Anderson) and Pablo Andújar (6-4 and 6-1 against David Goffin) were eliminated.
In addition, the day saw the abandonment of Serena Williams, due to an injury to the left knee, and the farewell of Garbiñe Muguruza, inferior to Monica Niculescu (7-6, 4-6 and 6-2). Also, the fall of the number one WTA, the Japanese Naomi Osaka (4-6, 7-6 and 6-3 against Su-wei Hsieh). In this way, the female throne is opened. Now, Czech Petra Kvitova and Romanian Simona Halep can unseat her if the former reaches the final or the latter is crowned.
